Teddy Lupin and the Unsolvable Case
by AGryffindorGirl
Summary: Bright eyed and bushy tailed, eighteen year old Teddy Lupin is fresh out of Hogwarts, ready to follow in his mother's footsteps and begin training as an Auror. But facing dangers and dark wizards out in the real world is much different than within the classroom walls, and Teddy soon realizes he may have bitten off more than he can chew.
1. The Beginning

**Chapter One: The Beginning **

_A knock_

When there is a knock on the door at one in the morning, it is never good news.

Because nobody knocks on the front door in the middle of the night to tell you that you have been given a raise, or that school has been canceled for the next day. No, people knock on your door in the middle of the night when there is something urgent that needs your attention. Something bad.

This is what Harry Potter woke to in the early hours of the twelfth of September, 2016.

_Rap! Rap! Rap!_

Harry Potter woke with a start, sitting up quickly in bed. His wife, Ginny, slept soundly beside him, her gentle snores indicating she had not heard anything at all.

As the Head of the Auror Department, Harry hardly ever slept heavily. He could be called upon in a moment's notice, no matter what time of day, and his body had learned to wake quickly during his time in the Auror training program. This was helpful in moments of urgency, but also meant Harry was almost constantly awoken at any sound louder than that of Ginny's snoring. It also didn't help he had three children, the youngest of which was often found out of bed in the middle of the night in search of a midnight snack.

Harry strained his ears, focusing on picking up any irregular noises. When a minute had passed and he heard nothing, he laid back down, convinced he had imagined the sound.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, the knock came again, this time even louder.

_Rap! Rap! Rap! Rap!_

Harry was out of bed, grabbing his glasses off the bedside table and shoving them onto his nose. Then he fumbled in the dark, grabbing his wand. His quick movements (or perhaps the second knock) had awoken Ginny, who sat up bolt right.

"Whaz tha matter?" She asked sleepily, blinking several times as her eyes came into focus.

Harry was pulling on his bathrobe, tying it around himself. "Someone's at the front door."

He left the bedroom quickly and made for the front of the house, Ginny at his heels. They were both barefoot, and Harry heard Ginny curse as she ran into the corner of the couch in the living room. Her eyes had not yet adjusted to the dark.

Harry gripped his wand tightly in his hand and unlocked the front door, pulling it open.

Standing on his front porch, the warm nighttime breeze rustling through his cloak, was Caleb Stubbings. His wand was in his right hand and his dark hair was a complete mess. His breathing was heavy, as if he had run to Godric's Hollow.

"Stubbings? What are you doing here?" Harry demanded. Caleb Stubbings was the last person he would have ever expected to turn up on his porch in the middle of the night.

And yet, here he was.

Stubbings was one of the youngest Aurors in the Ministry. He had completed his training a few years ago, though how he did it Harry did not know. Caleb Stubbings was an utter mess of an Auror. He was never up on time, placed last in almost all of his training simulations, and the first time he was taken on a case he had contaminated half of the crime scene. Harry recognized the determination Stubbings had when he first appeared at the Ministry and had vouched for his potential, but it was getting increasingly harder as the Head Auror to keep justifying Caleb's slip ups.

"Sorry sir- rush- apparated- wrong street," Caleb managed to get some words out in between gulps of air. "Had to run- can't breath-"

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look. He knew she was thinking the same thing.

_He could have just apparated from the wrong street to the right street._

Harry sighed, already exasperated. "Stubbings, why are you waking me up at this hour?"

Caleb took a big breath, clutching a stitch in his side. Then he straightened up. "A kid has gone missing," he explained, voice still shaking as he wheezed. "The parents contacted the Auror department, so the nighttime squad went to check it out. But they just sent a message saying they want you to come in. They said it's urgent. I had to come here to wake you up."

The young Auror placed his hands on his knees, falling silent. Apparently he had finished his message.

But Harry wasn't paying attention to Stubbings anymore. His mind was reeling.

This wasn't the first time a kid had ever gone missing, but Harry had never been awoken in the middle of the night to look at a missing child case. The nighttime squad, usually pretty capable of handling cases on their own, only called for Harry if there really was a problem.

Which meant something was wrong.

Harry tightened his hold on his wand. "Thank you, Stubbings. You can go back to the Ministry."

Caleb nodded, finally standing back up and setting off down the sidewalk. He disapparated a few moments later.

Harry shut the door and hurried back to his bedroom, Ginny not far behind. "Remind me not to leave Stubbings on night duty," he muttered, shaking his head.

"I don't see why he came here. Couldn't they have just owled you?" Ginny asked.

But Harry wasn't listening. He was rushing to change into his robes, almost to the bedroom threshold, when a voice cut through the silent house.

"Who's at the door?"

Harry and Ginny both spun around, clearly still jumpy from their sudden awakening just a few minutes before. They relaxed, however, when they caught sight of their daughter staring down at them.

Eight year old Lily Potter was standing at the top of the stairs, looking concerned and curious at the same time. As Harry looked up at her, he couldn't help but observe the surprising likeness she held to her mother. The older she got the more she grew to look like the young Ginny he remembered from his first trip to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.

"No one, Lils," said Harry hurriedly, but it was clear she didn't believe him. He was positive worry laced his voice.

The phrase _"missing child" _clanged around in his skull, pounding into his head as he watched his young daughter stare at him with wide eyes.

_Missing child._

Ginny headed up the stairs to Lily, stopping on the step beneath her to sit down. "It was just an owl delivering a letter to your dad," she told her. "He was awfully late, I think he got lost."

Lily looked even more concerned at this. "Where's the owl?"

"He went back home," explained Ginny, standing up. "Now, you need to get back to sleep, missy!" She ruffled Lily's hair and chased her back to her room, laughing as she giggled down the hallway.

Harry smiled slightly as he watched his favorite girls, wanting nothing more in that moment than to run upstairs and chase after them. He longed to forget all about Stubbings' message and read a bedtime story to little Lily Luna Potter.

But he had a case to attend to.

He waited until the tips of Ginny's bright red hair disappeared around the corner, then dashed into his room. It only took him moments to change and when he tore back into the living room, Ginny was waiting for him.

"I'll be back soon," Harry promised her, kissing her on the forehead.

Ginny was frowning. "I don't like this, Harry," she said, and Harry knew the wheels in her head were already spinning.

"Don't try to solve the case. We don't even know what it's about. Just get some sleep, I'll be back before you know it."

Ginny looked as if she wanted to say more, but Harry didn't give her the chance. He gave her one quick smile, then disapparated out of the living room, heading straight for the Ministry of Magic.

**...**

_A note, and a beginning_

But this is not a story about Harry Potter (though he certainly will be involved). This is a story about many people but, first and foremost, it is a story about an eighteen year old boy named Teddy Lupin who, at the same moment Harry Potter received a knock on his door, was sleeping soundly in his own bed, completely unaware that his entire world was about to be turned upside down.

Truthfully, we could start the story at any point in Teddy's eighteen years of life. We could begin on April 9th, 1998, the day Teddy Lupin was born (though, that would be a bit extreme), or start on September 1st, 2009, when Teddy first boarded the Hogwarts Express. Maybe it would make sense to begin later on, at the event that occurred in his fourth year (now referred to as "The Incident"), or in June of 2016, when the young Hufflepuff finally graduated from Hogwarts. Or, perhaps we could begin on any of the days between all of the ones listed above, maybe in the middle of a particularly trying Transfiguration lesson.

But, things in Teddy Lupin's life really started to spiral out of control the same day Harry Potter woke to that knock on his front door: September 12th, 2016: the day Teddy was due to begin his time as an Auror in training.

And so, since this is a story about Teddy Lupin, that is where we will begin.

**...**

**A/N: This is the beginning of a story idea I have had for a long time. Thank you so much for reading, likes and reviews are very much appreciated! Chapter two will be much longer and will come at you soon!**


	2. One (Disorganized) Graduate

**Chapter Two: One (Disorganized) Graduate**

_Some things never change_

Deep within the sprawling streets of London, hidden in the tiny corner of a shabby flat building, a young man was (at precisely 7:27 am, mind you) blasting some unfortunately loud rock music, much to the dismay of his many neighbors.

This young man, eighteen year old Teddy Lupin, was singing along to this horrid music at the top of his lungs (which, to his neighbors' ears, was even more terrible at this god forsaken hour than simply the music on its own) as he dug through several different battered packing boxes. He was searching for the new set of robes he had received as a gift from his grandmother only days before, yet they seemed to have vanished from his flat.

"_Can you dance like a hippogriff? __Na na na na na na na na na!"_ Teddy shouted, bobbing his head as he began ruffling through box number three. He tossed everything out, chucking sweaters and shoes over his shoulder, until he reached the bottom. With no robes in sight, he threw the empty box to the side and grabbed another one, suddenly wishing he had unpacked all of his possessions the moment he moved in.

You see, Teddy Lupin was notorious for procrastinating on the smallest of chores. He would write and edit a five page essay on the importance of the Mandrake root before he would ever consider charming a feather duster to clean the baseboards, despite the obvious ease of the latter. So, when it came to unpacking everything he owned in his new flat, where he lived alone... well, you can guess how smoothly _that_ went. For Teddy had moved into flat number 9 of Tippett Court six days ago, relocating himself right into the heart of London, England, yet he hadn't even begun to think about getting rid of all these boxes. His grandmother, Andromeda Tonks, had offered (or really, demanded) to help Teddy get settled, but the young man wanted to face this challenge on his own. In his opinion, it was high time he started adulting.

Although, clearly adulting was going _so well_ for him thus far.

"_I really can't find my robes, na na na na na na na na na," _Teddy hummed as he made it to the bottom of box four without any luck. A tiny bit of panic began to set in. Teddy was supposed to be at the Ministry in less than an hour, and he certainly could not show up dressed in a pair of old Hogwarts robes.

But the longer he searched the more desperate he became, and those ankle length school robes were beginning to look more appealing after turning out the contents of box number seven.

"Honestly, Teddy, do you ever learn?" A voice said from just behind him.

Teddy almost jumped out of his skin.

Stumbling, he spun around, tripping over his discarded jumpers and crashing to the floor as he did so.

Towering over him, an exasperated expression plastered to her face, stood his grandmother.

"I thought you told me in your letter yesterday that you had already unpacked."

Teddy, who very clearly had _not_ unpacked everything, grinned sheepishly. "I have unpacked _some_ of my stuff."

Andromeda Tonks opened her mouth, probably to tell Teddy off, so he rushed to continue.

"But, Gran, why are you here? How did you even get in?"

She sighed. "I have the other key to your flat, remember? I told you that- oh Merlin, Teddy! Turn this horrible music off!"

Teddy did as she asked, cutting the Weird Sisters short during their rendition of "_Magic Works"_. He could have sworn he heard his neighbors sigh of relief just beyond their shared wall.

"Thank you," Andromeda said, uncovering her ears with her hands.

Andromeda had never been fond of Teddy's taste in music. Or her own daughter's, for that matter. Yet, despite the unbearable agony that the Weird Sisters caused, Andromeda could not pretend she didn't enjoy having them back in her life. The sound was worse than nails on a chalkboard to the old woman, but each song brought with it a little sliver of Nymphadora Tonks.

And Andromeda would listen to that music forever if it meant her daughter was present in the form of a sound wave. Even if just for a brief moment.

She did not tell any of this to Teddy, of course. She had a reputation to uphold.

"I came to see you off for your first day," Andromeda told Teddy as he picked himself off the floor. "I expected you would already be dressed by now."

"I would have been, if I could find my robes," Teddy defended himself, though it was not much of a defense.

Andromeda simply shook her head at him. "Honestly, Teddy, how did you ever make it through school on your own?" She asked as she stepped around the piles of clothes, heading towards Teddy's closet.

"There's nothing in there, I haven't unpack- how did you do that?!" He exclaimed suddenly.

For Andromeda Tonks had emerged from the closet with a brand new set of robes dangling over her arm.

She had obviously performed one of her "mom tricks", as Teddy referred to them. All mothers and grandmothers seemed to have the power: making the thing you are searching for appear right under your nose. You claim it was never there when you looked, yet she never believes you.

Andromeda, however, would disagree. "I hung them in here after I helped you drop all your boxes. I _told_ you they were in your closet before I left."

Teddy, who could have sworn he checked his closet first (he didn't), was shocked.

_One of these days_, he thought. _I'll get her to teach me the mom trick._

"Thanks, Gran," Teddy said as he took the robes from her. "I was about to break out the Hogwarts robes."

Andromeda rolled her eyes. "Oh dear. If you ever show up to the Ministry in those old clothes, I am disowning you."

"Sure, whatever you say."

"You'd better hurry and get changed. You don't want to be late on your first day of Auror training."

Right, Auror training. That's what he was getting ready for.

To say he was nervous was an understatement.

Teddy Lupin was _terrified_ for his first day of Auror training. The simple thought of standing in the same room as seasoned Aurors was enough to make his stomach churn. But Teddy knew he could not walk in and make a fool out of himself due to nerves. That would be pathetic. The Aurors were the best of the best, and Teddy needed to appear confident if he wanted to be respected even the tiniest bit. He was simply aiming to make a good first impression (and to make it through the day without vomiting up his breakfast).

Within minutes, Teddy was dressed and ready to go.

Andromeda was waiting for him by the front door, eyes glistening as she looked him over. Teddy had the sneaking suspicion she would start crying if he didn't get out the flat fast enough.

"Now Teddy, promise me you'll be careful," she said.

"Of course, Gran. When am I ever _not_ careful?"

His grandmother stared at him with a wickedly arched eyebrow, as if asking if he really wanted her to answer that question. Teddy hurried on.

"I'm sure it'll just be a more exciting version of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Andromeda sighed, reaching up and attempting to smooth down Teddy's hair. It did not obey her wishes, of course. The unruly blue locks atop his head seemed to have a mind of their own. Combing his hair was useless. Teddy knew it, and so did Andromeda. But that did not stop her from performing the same action she had for years, trying and failing to fix Teddy's hair.

Despite the constant swirling chaos of change that had been engulfing both Teddy and Andromeda for the past few months, some things always remain the same.

"I'll be careful, Gran," Teddy promised as he pulled his grandmother into a hug. He released her a few moments later, careful not to mention the tear rolling down her cheek. "And I'll write you all about it."

"You'd better, young man," she said with a small laugh, dabbing at the corner of her eye. "Now, get going."

Teddy grinned and stepped past her, pushing open the door to his small flat and walking into the hallway.

"And unpack the rest of your things when you get home!"

"Bye, Gran!" Teddy called over his shoulder, waving his arm in the air as he headed for the stairs.

And Andromeda Tonks was left watching the boy she had raised like a son walk out into the real world for the first time.


	3. The 5th Unit of the Auror Department

**Chapter Three: The 5th Unit of the Auror Department**

_Barnes_

Three years.

That's how long it had been since Autumn Barnes had been a trainee.

And yet, on this day, she felt as if no time had passed yet all the time in the world had gone by simultaneously.

It was silly, really. Three years was nothing in the Auror department. Heck, even Juroska had been working in this building since before she had been born. But with talk of a new group of Aurors joining the team and placing everyone into a mentor position, it was enough to make Autumn's head spin. She was the one still being trained. Day in and day out, her team wouldn't let her forget how little she really knew of the world and the evil lurking within. She still managed to screw arrests up and miswrite reports despite how hard she worked, and Autumn still froze from time to time when a criminal yelled back at her during an interrogation.

And now she was supposed to be teaching these new kids? When they were practically the same age?

Autumn Barnes felt she had been an Auror for a lifetime and knew only a fraction more than she did when she first walked through the doors of the Ministry of Magic. And today, as she entered the familiar building for the thousandth time, she felt the weight of her title pressing on her shoulders. Because, in her mind, this was the day she was officially an Auror. These trainees were going to be asking her questions she was supposed to know the answers to.

And she needed to be ready.

**...**

_Juroska_

Nathan Juroska was the first person in the Auror Department every morning.

He enjoyed the eerie calm, an almost unrecognizable sensation. The room, typically bustling with activity as people moved between cubicles and chatted over case files was still, with everything frozen in time from the night before, when the last Auror left the building. Nathan would only be alone with his thoughts for about ten minutes before the wing bubbled into chaos once again, but it was a small moment of pure bliss he could count on everyday.

This morning was no different. As he took the well worn path to his desk, he let his eyes sweep the room. He knew just about everyone in the department and could identify whose desk was who's with just a glance. Caleb Stubbings was five cubicles down from Nathan and left scrolls of parchment spilling onto the floor every night, but the photos of him with his little sister pinned to his makeshift wall were always visible. Ruthie Wheeler, a woman Nathan had once helped train, was stationed across the room, but her old Slytherin scarf was never hard to spot draped around the back of her chair. Nathan Juroska knew this room like the back of his hand, yet it never ceased to surprise him when he passed by Murphy's cubicle.

He sat across the aisle from his team member and stared at her work station hours a day for the past year and a half, and her desk was just as empty as the day its previous owner quit his job and boxed up his things. Every single one of Nathan's coworkers personalized their desks in some way. It was their way of keeping sane and telling the darkness of their work that it wasn't a permanent resident in their minds. That there was someone or something happier in their lives that would be there when the work was over, case after case after case. But Margaret Murphy's desk had remained empty and in pristine condition for the almost two years since she had transferred into the Ministry of Magic.

And Nathan would spend a portion of his calm serenity every morning wondering why his teammate was the only person in the Auror department with a cold cubicle.

**...**

_Murphy_

Margaret Murphy despised tea.

She did not understand the British fascination with a hot beverage that tastes like water with a whisper of spice.

And as for their argument that the caffeine from tea was better for you than coffee? Forget it.

Murphy wanted to drown the sleep out of her system with a boiling cup of bitterness every morning. And that is exactly what she did, clutching a warm mug in her hand as she set out on her commute to work.

Though, the coffee in Britain could never compare to that in America. If there was one thing she truly missed from her old life in the states, it was the coffee shop right around the corner from her old apartment. It wasn't a magical shop, but to Murphy that made it even better. It was her own small escape from the trials of the daily life of an Auror.

Even more so after her life imploaded.

But the Bird Nest Coffee House was back in New York City with the rest of her old life, and Murphy had to put an ocean between herself and that time to get away and catch her breath. And if that meant giving up sitting for hours inside Bird Nest pouring over case files, then so be it. There were other coffee shops in London anyway, and she was bound to find them.

Once she started looking.

Her cup of coffee lasted her the duration of her walk to work, finishing off the dregs as she entered the Auror Department and ducking to avoid being taken out by a flying memo. Every one of her coworkers was already present, scribbling away on scraps of parchment and rushing out of the room in pairs and a flurry of robes. Murphy was late, as she usually was, but she didn't care. She dropped into the chair at her cubicle and propped her feet up on her desk, rummaging around in her bag until her fingers caught hold of her morning edition of the Daily Prophet. She always read the paper when she got to work, typically able to finish it before Chu debriefed her unit for the day. In her rush to get out the door, Murphy had stuffed the paper into her bag this morning without a second glance. Only now, as she smoothed the wrinkled pages out across her desk, did she see the front page headline:

**Child Missing: Disappeared From Inside Home**

"Did you see it?" A young red haired woman popped her head over the tiny wall separating Murphy's cubicle from the one mirroring it, and Murphy was glad she wasn't still holding her smoldering cup of coffee because she almost tumbled out of her chair.

"Barnes, how many times do I have to tell you: quit _doing _that_._"

Autumn Barnes ignored Murphy, coming around the corner to stand beside her desk. "A child, Scott Atkins, was reported missing last night. Word is Potter was called to come in at like two a.m. Must be pretty serious."

"The Daily Prophet likes to blow things out of proportion. That's why I don't read it anymore," Nathan Juroska said from across the aisle, running his hand over the greying goatee on his face as he turned towards them.

Murphy had a feeling that Juroska's age had more to do with him not reading the Prophet than anything else. The old man didn't trust the papers anymore, though she couldn't really blame him. Murphy felt there was truth to his words, most forms of the media _did_ blow many of the cases her department worked on out of proportion. They also compromised many of their leads by tipping off criminals to parts of the investigations that shouldn't be shared to the public.

"Well, if it is serious, it's the last thing we need. What with Auror training beginning today," Barnes said.

"Nah, it could be good. Throw the kids right into the deep end and see which ones can swim," Juroska argued.

But the more Murphy read of the front page story, the more intrigued she became.

_Young Wizard Missing._

_Scott Atkins (7) was reported missing late last night at 12:47 am. William and Rebecca Atkins, Scott's parents, claim they returned home from a late night out with a few friends at around midnight. With the babysitter having sent Scott to bed before the parents returned to the house, they did not enter his room as they bid the babysitter goodnight and got ready for bed themselves. It was only when Rebecca Atkins peeked into her son's bedroom to check on him before turning in for the night did she discover his bed empty and the window open._

_Aurors were called to the scene and arrived to investigate at approximately 12:50 am, and sources claim the Head of the Auror Department, Harry Potter, was summoned shortly after. Both the Auror Department and the Atkins family have declined to comment. But the fact remains: Scott Atkins is still missing._

_More on this story as it develops._

It seemed like a textbook missing child case. Kid wanders off or runs away from home, only to be found hours to a day or so later, perfectly fine save for a bout of hunger. And yet, while the Daily Prophet was typically full of hogwash, they had never placed Potter into a nighttime missing child report. On top of that, no missing child article had ever made the front page. Murphy did not know what had transpired at the Atkins' house in the early hours of the morning, but she intended to find out.

"I want to work it."

Barnes and Juroska looked at her, surprised. They had forgotten she was there. "What?" Barnes asked.

"The missing kid case. I want to work it."

**...**

_Chu_

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

_Inhale._

_Exhale._

Meredith Chu tried to slow her breathing behind the closed door of her office, attempting to pull herself together before she had to debrief her team. But she hadn't been able to get the flashes of her own children out of her mind since her morning meeting with Potter and the other Unit Chiefs. This job was hard enough as is for a mother of two young kids, but missing kid cases never made it any easier.

According to Potter, the nighttime squad was still reviewing the crime scene and assessing evidence. He had not shared much, probably because he did not have much to share, but one thing was certain: this was not an ordinary situation. Meredith did not know why, and that made the storm inside her mind much worse.

_Arnold is at Hogwarts and Jane is at home with Simon._

She kept repeating that sentence. Over and over. There was no reason for her to worry about Arnold and Jane, because both of them were in safe places. What she needed to focus on were the three trainees joining her team later that day. And hopefully also Scott Atkins, because right now there was a boy missing and a family scared, and Meredith wanted to remedy that.

With one more long breath, Meredith Chu opened the door to her office and crossed the threshold into the chaotic Auror department, heading straight for her unit's cubicles.

The Fifth Unit of the Auror Department was never hard to spot, though typically Meredith heard them first. And today was no different.

"Juroska, you've got to stop stepping in. I told you yesterday, I had that guy!" The youngest member of Meredith's team, Autumn Barns was declaring, voice much louder than it needed to be. It tended to rise in volume whenever she was frustrated, and often that increase was exacerbated by Nathan Juroska.

"Please, you kept jumping every time he looked at you," Juroska declared, and Meredith could spot his grey hair peeking over the top of his cubicle from across the room.

"You're forgetting, Juroska. Barnes jumps at everything," Murphy stated without even bothering to look up from her newspaper. The dark skinned woman had her boots up on her desk, leaning far back in her chair, precariously balancing between staying upright and crashing to the ground.

Barnes rolled her eyes. "I do _not_."

But Murphy, never satisfied without the last word, picked up a thick book and dropped it down onto her desk, hard. Barnes, who had her back to Murphy, jumped and whirled around, knocking Murphy's pile of files all over the ground.

Murphy smirked, lifting her eyes to look at Juroska. "Told you."

The two older Aurors dissolved into stifled laughter, and Meredith caught a rare glimpse at Murphy's smile. While this was certainly not the situation she wanted the woman laughing at, it was always nice for Meredith to see the new expression on Murphy's face. But, as quickly as the smile always arrived, it disappeared before Meredith even had the chance to make her presence known.

"Murphy, Juroska, quit messing around," Meredith said sharply, causing all three of her team members to jump slightly. They had not noticed her.

Murphy ignored her words, dropping her chair back to its original position, her feet hitting the ground with a thud. "So, the missing kid case. We working it?" She asked directly.

Meredith Chu sighed, wanting to pull her hair out. Leave it to her team to _want_ to work the case that was causing her so much anxiety already. "No, not at the moment. Potter will relay more information to me as it becomes available."

"Come on, Chu," said Juroska, setting down his quill. "You know as well as we do the first forty eight hours of an abduction are the most crucial."

"You think the Atkins kid was abducted?" Barnes asked.

In all truth, Meredith _did_ think he had been abducted. It was a small comfort to know Juroska shared her concern. The two had worked together for so long and on so many cases that Meredith often suspected their minds had begun to think in similar ways. Isn't that one of the beauties of being around someone so much? You begin to share the habits of yourself with each other, and they start to manifest themselves in their daily life, as much as theirs in yours.

But both Meredith and Juroska had no evidence in front of them to back up their suspicions. All they had was a gut feeling to the information they had been presented.

Or, technically, the lack thereof.

"As I said, I will receive more information soon. But right now, I need you all to focus on the new trainees joining our team. They will be here within the hour."

**...**

_An unusual trip into the Ministry_

If Teddy Lupin was ever asked to pick his favorite aspect of the Ministry of Magic, he would choose the ever present bustle of activity.

On most days.

Today was certainly _not _one of those days.

For one thing, the heavy flow of foot traffic heading into the Ministry was enough to make anybody's head spin. Teddy had lost track of how many different lines he had already stood in, and he wasn't even completely inside the Ministry yet.

The act of entering the Ministry was an entirely different beast, and Teddy Lupin was seriously reconsidering his decision to join the Aurors as he stood in line at the men's restroom, watching as his fellow wizards entered toilet stalls and did not return. All the occasions Teddy had visited the Ministry throughout his life, and it had never occurred to him the employees used an entrance different from the visitor's entrance. He had always squeezed into the telephone booth with his Uncle Harry, never once questioning how everyone else got to their desk.

He regretted it now.

"So... we just get into the toilet and... flush?" Teddy asked aloud to nobody in particular. A few of the wizards surrounding him gave him strange looks while others ignored him completely.

"Technically yes," someone said, their voice cutting through the awkwardly silent bathroom. "Although, when you put it that way, you make it sound uncivilized."

Teddy turned around to find himself face to face with a boy that could not have been much older than himself. He had dark skin, a pair of large glasses resting on his nose, and one quick glance at him told Teddy this boy must be an experienced Ministry worker (at least, more experienced than him anyway). His cloak was fastened securely around his shoulders, and Teddy could see a pristine blue tie peeking out from under his collar.

"First day?" He asked, and Teddy winced.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Not really by the look of you. But '_do we just get in and flush'_ was a bit of a dead giveaway."

Teddy groaned, running a shaky hand through his hair, confident its usual blueberry pigment had a dash of pink undertones at the moment. The other boy must have noticed this, because his eyes grew about two sizes wider a few seconds later.

"Woah- your hair!"

"Yeah, it tends to do that when I'm embarrassed. I'm a metamorphmagus," Teddy explained quickly, very aware of the several other sets of eyes trained on him. Desperate to change the subject before he was asked to prove it, he hurried on. "Name's Teddy, what's yours?"

The boy, who was still squinting at the top of Teddy's head, seemed to realize what he was doing when Teddy addressed him. He hastily dropped his gaze, adjusting the glasses on his nose as he suddenly became interested in his tie. "Elliot."

He extended his hand to Teddy, who shook it firmly.

"Nice to meet you, Elliot. So, what department do you work in?" Teddy asked, still hoping to steer the conversation completely away from his changing hair color.

"The Auror department," Elliot said. "Though, technically I don't completely work there. Not yet, anyway. I'm starting Auror training today."

Auror training? Today? Teddy gaped at the other boy, quite shocked to learn Elliot was about to embark on the same journey as him. It seemed to him that he and Elliot were on much different levels, and the butterflies in Teddy's stomach just got a little more rowdy.

"Wait, you're starting Auror training? I'm starting Auror training too- how do you know exactly what you're doing?"

It was a bit of a blunt question, but Teddy was very curious to learn how Elliot was so well versed on the methods for entering the Ministry of Magic. It was supposed to be his first day, same as Teddy's.

Elliot laughed slightly. "I came a few days ago to figure out where the employee entrance was and how to use it," he explained. "I get nervous when I don't know what I'm doing, so I thought I'd check it out before my first day of work."

As the line in front of him grew shorter and the pit in his stomach larger, Teddy wished he had thought to do the same thing.

"Well, you're smarter than me. Lucky I bumped into you, though, or I'd have no idea what to do when I got to the front."

Speaking of the front of the line, the wizard directly in front of Teddy disappeared into the stall, leaving Teddy on deck. It was only a few moments before the door swung open, revealing a toilet glaring ominously back.

Elliot poked him in between the shoulder blades. "You're up," he said. "I'll be right behind you, and we can walk to the Auror headquarters together."

Teddy gulped, aware yet again of all the eyes in the room trained on him. He hurried forward into the stall, tripping over his feet and almost plunging into the toilet face first. Teddy heard Elliot snickering at him and quickly shut the stall door, locking it behind him.

As he stared at the porcelain bowl, he began to wonder if Elliot was pulling his leg. _Get in and flush_... _yeah right._ That was the last thing Teddy wanted to do. But it was much too late for him to back out. He would look foolish exiting the stall the way he came in. So, Teddy took a deep breath, and stepped up into the toilet.

"Oh this is horrible," he muttered as the water pooled around his ankles, turning his shoes squishy. He was sure the hem of his robes was soaked by now, and was really hoping it would dry by the time he reached the Auror office. Teddy did not want to explain to everyone that he was leaving wet footprints all over the place because of a toilet.

He eyed the silver toilet handle, grasping it in his right hand. "Here goes nothing," he said, then pulled the handle down.

And then he was spinning like a top.

Teddy could not see anything, but he could feel himself being sucked into the pipes, shooting downwards at a high speed. Arms pinned to his side, Teddy shut his eyes tightly, attempting to prevent himself from getting sick.

It was only a few moments later (though, to Teddy it felt like an eternity) that Teddy came lurching to a halt. He was forced suddenly out into a bright, open space, sending him tumbling blindly forward and crashing to the floor.

Teddy opened his eyes to find himself flattened to the floor of the Ministry of Magic.

Witches and wizards swirled around him, hardly bothering to step over the boy with blue hair on the ground. Nobody stopped to help him up, or ask what he was doing down there.

"Right, guess I forgot to mention the landing part. Sorry about that."

A pair of arms hooked under Teddy's armpits and hoisted him to his feet. Teddy spun around, dusting himself off. Elliot stood behind him, his robes wrinkle free. Clearly, he had not hurtled out of the fireplace at top speed the way Teddy had.

"Let's just get going," Teddy said, hoping his day would take a turn for the better if he could just make it to work on time and in one piece.

Teddy marched off to the right with the crowds of witches and wizards heading in that direction, concentrating on calming his nerves, when Elliot yanked him backwards with a tug on his robes. "Other way," he said with a small grin, and Teddy could feel his cheeks turning pink.

But Elliot, though slightly amused, was mostly relieved to know that maybe, just maybe, he stood the slightest chance of holding his own alongside Teddy Lupin.

**...**

_An introduction to Elliot Becker_

You see, Elliot Becker was a year older than Teddy Lupin, and thus had graduated before him, back in 2015. But, the two boys had spent six years together within the walls of Hogwarts, narrowly missing each other around every corner. And while Teddy hardly had any idea who Elliot Becker was when he roamed the halls as a student, Elliot knew him.

Although, really, who at Hogwarts _hadn't_ known Teddy Lupin?

The boy's own history gave him enough attention as is, and his peculiar abilities and blue hair only added to it. Elliot was sure he hardly went a week without hearing the name _Teddy Lupin_ uttered more than once back in school. Even his own friends would talk about the boy in their Ravenclaw common room, even if only to complain about the mess Teddy left in the Library when he knocked over half a dozen book shelves one afternoon.

Teddy Lupin was notorious for hundreds of different reasons within the magical world.

And Elliot Becker was not.

He simply lurked in the background, even in his own life. There was always someone more interesting than him around every corner, as Elliot saw it. And after nineteen years of life, he had finally accepted that fact and quit putting up a fight. Elliot was prepared to take his place silently, even in the Auror training program. He would do his best, but knew he would never be more important than Teddy Lupin, or anybody else for that matter.

Because nothing ever happened to Elliot Becker.

And, as he believed, nothing ever would.

But Elliot would soon find out just how wrong he was.

**...**

_A Look at the Evidence_

"Scott Atkins, seven. Pureblood wizard, parents claim he's a good kid, said their relationship with him was positive. But those are their words, not his."

The entire Atkins case lay on a table in front of Harry Potter. Though, he wasn't even sure he could call it a case. All they had was a paper thin file on Scott Atkins, a bit of family history, and four photographs of the crime scene: Scott's bedroom. Harry was staring at the image of the window ajar, deep in thought as the nighttime squad debriefed him.

"There was no evidence of a forced entry. I suspect the kid ran away."

Harry finally glanced up, eyes landing on Lester Birtwhistle, one of the nighttime Aurors, as he spoke. Hands on his hips, he looked fairly confident in his words.

Harry, on the other hand, was not so sure.

"Thank you, Birtwhistle. Now, go take a break and grab some tea or something. You must be exhausted."

Birtwhistle opened his mouth, likely to argue, but Harry jerked his head toward the door. He nodded and left without a word. The door creaked on its hinges, and Harry was left alone.

He breathed out a sigh, resisting the urge to sit down and fall asleep at the table. Harry and a handful of Aurors had spent the entire day checking out the Atkins household and staring at the four photographs. His eyes were dry and brain fried, but he couldn't look away from this case.

About eight hours had passed since Scott was reported missing. Had the boy run away, as Birtwhistle suspected, Harry was almost positive some trace of him would have turned up by now. No way a seven year old could sneak off so easily. But Harry had been thinking about this case all morning, and all he had to show for it was the same pieces of evidence originally collected.

Something was wrong. But Harry did not want to admit it, and the public certainly did not want to hear it.

"We're missing something," he muttered to himself, eyes scanning the pieces of parchment strewn across the table once again.

He would have missed it. In fact, he _had_ missed it several times that day. But as Harry stared blankly at the image of Scott's bed once again, a flash of color suddenly caught his eye.

Scrambling, Harry snatched up the photo, pulling it close to his face. The image was moving- as all magical images do- and the curtain directly beside the bed was rustling in the breeze.

"Come on," Harry breathed, eyes watching the windowsill clothed in dark blue fabric and hoping he wasn't going crazy. "Move again."

Just as he began to suspect he had imagined it, the curtain shifted, and Harry's eye locked in on the missing piece.

Just below the windowsill, inches away from Scott's bed, was a small, shining red letter _M_. It wasn't completely clear, but Harry was fairly certain the Atkins boy could not have drawn that with a simple red marker, and he wasn't of the age to use magic just yet.

That symbol was left there. Intentionally.

Harry lunged for the door, tripping over himself as he wrenched it open. "Birtwhistle! Get in here!"

In the complete murkiness of the entire morning, only one thing was clear.

_Scott Atkins did not run away from home._

**...**

**A/N: My time in social distancing has allowed me to get back into writing. Expect more chapters to come and soon! Thank you for reading.**


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